Into The Stars Aims To Merge FTL With Oregon Trail

Fugitive Games' Into The Stars Kickstarter is all about scavenging resources and defending civilians to a new soundtrack from Mass Effect's Jack Wall.

It's been a long time, but space games finally seem to be making a comeback. Between Star Citizen's crowdfunding, the Homeworld remastering, and the re-release of Star Wars: X-Wing, we're looking at so many options that it feels like the 1990s all over again. Now the newly established Fugitive Games is entering the market with a Kickstarter project: Into The Stars, an open-world space management sim combining elements of FTL and the classic Oregon Trail.

Set in the distant future, humanity is losing a war against alien invaders set on destroying Earth. As the captain of the final colony ship to escape the planet, the player must manage their ship, crew, and resources on a journey to find a new homeworld. Captains can chart any course through 90 zones, gathering resources while encountering friendly and hostile aliens along the way.

When a game of Into The Stars begins, players outfit their ship with modules, recruit crew members, and select resources for the cargo hold. After launching, your primary goal is to maintain the ship and crew. Just like FTL and Oregon Trail, permadeath is a very real threat, but one that must be risked as you organize landing parties and mining operations.

Into The Stars is being developed under the Unreal 4 engine, and even in a pre-alpha state the screenshots are visually impressive. But what might get more attention is the musical score composed by Jack Wall, who developed the soundtracks for the first two Mass Effect games. Naturally, Into The Stars original soundtrack is included as a Kickstarter reward alongside signed concept art and the ability to name individual planets.

Regardless, it seems that development on Into The Stars is well-underway - its release date is listed for July 2015, with the Kickstarter funds going towards additional development support.